Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Smoking easily kills even Marlboro cowboys

By Andrei
Mikhailov

A Marlboro Cowboy

At
one time he was the most famous smoker on the planet. Wayne McLaren - the
person advertising Marlboro, a dashing cowboy on a horse with a cigarette, was
the image of a man in control of his life, who could do anything and who had no
problems. However, he did have problems. Twenty years ago, in July of 1992,
52-year-old McLaren died of lung cancer caused by smoking.

He was called a "Marlboro cowboy." Having increased the sales of
cigarettes of the brand to unprecedented heights, he spent the rest of his life
to fight the tobacco companies. Prior to cigarette advertising, McLaren worked
as an actor, model, stunt man and rodeo rider. By chance he got involved with
the famous campaign of Marlboro cigarettes that made him rich and famous.

He
smoked two to three packs a day, but after being diagnosed with lung cancer in
1990, McLaren became an active member of the public movement against smoking.
Chemotherapy and removal of a lung has not stopped the cancer: the disease has
spread throughout his body, and metastasis caused damage to his brain. Two
years after the diagnosis, shortly before his 52nd birthday, he died.

In 1953, scientists in the United States officially declared that smoking
caused lung cancer. This statement shocked smokers, and the tobacco companies
had to quickly rectify the situation. In 1953, tobacco consumption has declined
in the U.S. for the first time in the country's history. The owner of the
Marlboro logo and a large tobacco company, businessman Philip Morris began to
think quickly how to eliminate a fear of smoking. He needed to attach a face to
his brand.

One
of the posters of the time portrayed a child and a slogan: "Dad, you
always get the best, even Marlboro". There was yet another radical
innovation: Marlboro cigarettes were the world first filtered cigarettes.
Advertisers reported that a filter would help prevent lung cancer and other
unpleasant diseases. Advertisers exploited several images, ranging from a
rugged sailor to a high-altitude builder to a war correspondent. All of them,
of course, looked courageously and smoked Marlboro. The image of a cowboy was
the most successful, and the one the advertisers started using. America was
reminded that it was built by these brutal guys. So why be afraid?

Cigarette
sales have soared: after the first advertising campaign with the
"cowboy," the brand ranked fourth in the market. Philip Morris came
up with another innovation: a hard cardboard package with a hinged lid. It was
easier to get cigarettes out of the new pack than a soft one without a lid, which
created the campaign of "ease and practicality." A "masculine
logo" was invented with a white strip literally "driven into"
the red one. In other words, cigarettes have become a symbol of masculinity and
sexuality.

This
is when Wayne McLaren appeared on stage. It happened in 1964. He announced from
TV screens that the filter would protect against all possible diseases, but did
not alter the taste of cigarettes. McLaren appealed to viewers with a smug
grin, "Welcome to Marlboro Country".

It seems that he believed what he was saying on TV: filter cigarettes are
harmless. Two or three packs a day for McLaren was the norm. He learned about
his health issues a few years before his death. He was diagnosed with nicotine
lung cancer. He survived chemotherapy, radiation therapy, amputation of one
lung, but it did not help.

In
his later years he became a shining example of the consequences of smoking. In
the two years before his death, Wayne McLaren became an active participant in
the campaign against nicotine. Before his death, he managed to play a role in a
video that has become super popular. In the video he stated that he regretted
his destructive habit.

Wayne McLaren is believed to have initiated a large-scale anti-tobacco campaign
around the world. The great promoter of smoking became a great advocate of a
healthy lifestyle. This struggle continues, albeit with varying degrees of
success.

In
conclusion, there are a few numbers related to smoking. 90 percent of deaths
from lung cancer, 75 percent of deaths from chronic bronchitis and 25 percent
from coronary heart disease are due to smoking. Every ten seconds a heavy
smoker dies on the planet (in 2020, this level could rise to one person every
three seconds).

In
Russia, at least one in ten women is a smoker, and among high school students
53 percent of boys and 28 percent of girls are smokers. 50-60 percent of
Russian men can be called heavy smokers (among some categories this number
reaches 95 percent). Smoking and diseases caused by them annually result in death
of at least one million citizens of Russia.

According to sociologists, 12 percent of the respondents believe that quitting
smoking is easy, 56 think that it is difficult, four percent believe that it is
impossible, and 28 percent do not think about it. At the same time 21 percent
of those surveyed tried to quit smoking, but mostly unsuccessfully. 47 percent
of Russian citizens consider smoking a bad habit, 38 percent believe it to be
an addiction, nine percent - an incurable disease, and six percent of respondents
were unable to determine their attitudes to smoking.

Smoking
poses other threats in addition to health risks. According to statistics, a lit
cigarette is one of the most common causes of household and industrial fires.
It is no accident that a new anti-fire measure was implemented in the European
countries. The European Union imposed a strict ban on "long-lasting"
cigarettes. This means that all cigarettes sold in stores must be
self-extinguishing. This measure is designed to reduce the number of fires that
occur due to unattended lit cigarettes.

Cigarette
producers were mandated to use paper that is difficult to ignite. It is not yet
clear what this measure brings, but the goal is a plausible one.

About Me

Duke Tagoe is a political and an environmental activist. He was born at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra on January 7th 1984 to Christian Tagoe and Rebecca Ofori of Asere and Mayera respectively. He started his schooling at Jamhuri Academy at Accra, and then moved to De'youngsters International for his Junior High School Education. In 2000, he started his Senior High School education as a Science student at the O'reilly Senior School but later moved to further his education at Apam Senior High School where he studied Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Mathematics. But for his love for journalism, he enrolled into the School of Professional Studies after which he subjected himself to rigorous training by Kwesi Pratt Jnr, an icon of Journalism and political activism in Ghana and the world over. Duke is currently the Political Correspondent to the Insight Newspaper and the Secretary of The Socialist Forum in Ghana and a member of The Committee for Joint Action, a pressure group opposed to corruption, and maladministration of public officers in public offices.